Welcome to the fourth week of ENSL Division 1 Predictions, and another exciting week in the top division. As usual, in addition to my own, lump` and anderval will also provide their predictions for the matches. This week's predictions were delayed because I was out checking out an appartment. Apologies. Next week's predictions will be released around 19:00 CET on Wednesday, as usual, so keep checking this space. This week's maps are ns_eclipse and ns_nancy

Important message to the teams:

Please note that if you haven't got a referee for your match, you have to give the IP and password of the server to Mike or PoMMe before the match to get an HLTV.

Week 3 recap

Although we've been somewhat inaccurate in the past, last week was a very good week for us predictors. We managed to get all six predictions right, scoring a 100% prediction statistic for the third week of ENSL. Hopefully our luck will continue this week.

Knife Gaming won 3-1 against Levitacus in the top match of week 3, putting Levitacus in an unfavourable position if they want to reach the grand finals. Lessthanthree continued their streak of solid results, winning 3-1 against netpoint and taking over the top position in division 1. In the lower tier of division 1, BoonSquad finally managed to secure their first non-loss so far this season, drawing 2-2 against Ownage.

Levitacus lost 1-3 to Knife last week, while lessthanthree inverted that score, winning 3-1 against netpoint. As lessthanthree won 4-0 against BoonSquad, while Levitacus only managed to get a 3-1, Levitacus will most likely have to win this if they want to reach the division 1 grand finals. Hopefully this will motivate them to make this an even more interesting match than it already looks like it's going to be.

As I said last week, Lessthanthree seem to have a solid game going, and are looking very able at the moment. Unfortunately for them, several of their players are currently on vacation, which could hurt them a lot in this match, which will most likely determine which of these teams take the second grand finals spot in division one, unless Levitacus pulls off an extremely unlikely 4-0 win against lessthanthree which would leave the group entirely open again. Levitacus are also looking very strong, with teamwork and strategies definitely improving. They seem to have problems performing under pressure, however, and that could be a problem against a seasoned team such as lessthanthree.

ns_eclipse can be a very alien biased map, but it can also be a very marine biased map, all depending on what strategies the two teams decide to go for. A tie on eclipse seems like a very reasonable proposition, be it either marine or alien. ns_nancy is more open however, mostly because it's a map only the French teams seem to have played to any great extent since it was reintroduced. Whoever practices the most will have an advantage here, and if one team fails to practice enough -- it's seemed like Levitacus haven't been all that active lately -- it could hurt them a lot on nancy. With that said, these teams are extremely evenly matched, and the most likely result here has to be a 2-2 tie. Anything can happen though, and this could easily swing either way.

Levit and <3 have played each other many times in pcw's with <3 taking the majority of the rounds. Now with avl back in action too add yet another boost to their game along side Zallvan's alround fading and marine ability, they are definitely a tough team to beat. I haven't really seen much of Levitacus' recent play standard, I only have results to go by. I'm sure they are still improving with their activity seeming quite constant. I doubt anyone would of expected them to take a round from Knife at the beginning of the season. With a few months more of improving at their current speed, they will be putting up a definite fight for top spot. As it is though, I think they are just slightly below the standards of <3 and knife who are seeming quite equal in their abilities.

Levitacus have taken a fair few rounds off <3 in pcws and I would expect them to be able to take the alien round on nancy with its large layout and large vent structure but that is all I can say for them as <3 are making it clear they want to win this league.

last week netpoint.EoD lost 1-3 to lessthanthree and BoonSquad tied ownage. This matchup in my opinion is very interesting and the outcome is sure to decide the bottom half of division 1, so both teams are really going to want to come out on top and should be practising hard.

netpoint appear to be taking the rust off their game effectively and normally i would predict them to win a match such as this. However last week BoonSquad added starfox, wltrs, and zaiko to their lineup which should strengthen their game significantly considering that zaiko is probably the best skulk in europe and that wltrs is one of the best marines, though equally bs did lose Hickz who was one of the strongest marines from their existing lineup. Ultimately i think this could go either way and it's a match i would really recommend watching on HLTV.

BoonSquad took home two rounds last week against Ownage, managing to break their two loss streak before it turned into at three loss streak. netpoint.EoD on the other hand, lost 1-3 to lessthanthree, leaving them with a two loss streak. Both teams are going to have to fight hard to avoid the two bottom spots in the league, although netpoint.EoD have been doing slightly better so far, and have a small advantage in the competition against Ownage and BoonSquad.

With the return of Bacon Men to active ns gaming -- this is like the fourth time or something they return from inactivity? -- BoonSquad has managed to snag a few players that will play with them during ENSL, as Bacon Men aren't eligible for play this season. With starfox, wltrs and zaiko teaming up with a slightly reduced BoonSquad roster, they may well have something good going on. The only down side I can see to this arrangement, is the lack of practice they're going to get together, with BM players mostly opting to practice with BM instead of BoonSquad. Nevertheless, this is definitely going to give BoonSquad a heads up in the two last and very important weeks of season 1.

netpoint.EoD have continued with their somewhat clumsy play, winning a few rounds with some strong play, while losing others with abysmal play. They definitely seem to have some problems with consistency, and this seems to be hurting them seriously against the top teams in the group. With Levitacus still to go in the last week of season 1, netpoint definitely need to get something going if they want to survive in division 1. With that said, their roster is still the good old EoD roster, and they're not to be toyed with.

While BoonSquad are going to get a boost from their new additions, I don't think they'll be able to take any marine rounds just yet. Supreme teamwork, skill and tactics are required to win marine rounds in this version, and I don't think they have all that yet. netpoint's alien rounds also seem a lot stronger than their marine rounds, and I doubt they'll be able to take any marine rounds either. I'm going to have to go for a 2-2 tie here, although BoonSquad could possibly win this if they bring their best game.

Last week's matches with these teams went pretty much as expected, Ownage tied BoonSquad and Knife took a 3-1 win over the Finnish Levitacus. Knife Gaming currently hold second place in the division though they have now played all their toughest matches and should have a fairly simple ride for the rest of the league. Ownage on the other hand are in 4th place but still have what are arguably their toughest two matches still to come.

From current form and each teams roster i would say that knife should be able to take this with a solid 4-0 win even though they recently lost n44bj -- one of their best marines -- who quit ns. With nancy being one of the maps this week though, whoever gets the most practice in will have an advantage and Ownage may be able to steal a round, though i doubt it.

Knife are going to want to get 4-0 out of this game against Ownage to
give them a points boost in taking the league top spot. As predicted by most, Knife beat levitacus 3-1 last week this with the fact that levitacus beat -o- 4-0 in the previous week would suggest a 4-0 win for Knife, but I'm going to say 3-1.

Nancy is far from the most marine friendly of NS maps which will make it hard to take the marine rounds at this level of play. IF -o- can get their early game skulking at a good standard they can certainly take their alien round comfortably. Ownage have been practicing a fair bit more than usual in their most recent weeks and it is showing. Eclipse is quite nice for marines still, despite the changes to maint and power sub junction that aid the aliens. I'd say as it is a very played map in practice would give the Knife alien and marine game a strong advantage with well thought out and practiced tactics to go along side their world class lineup.

(1) Ownage vs. Knife Gaming (3)

Top predictors

Lot's of action in the predictors charts as well, with Guito (currently 12/29 right) finally being thrown down from his throne by Nirgal (currently 13/31 right). Only one point separates him from the second place, however, and two points separates him from TahMurda (currently 11/30 right) and Naxu (currently 11/31 right) who're currently placed 3rd and 4th.

Of our Division 1 predictors, anderval (currently 10/22 right) is still in the lead, closely followed by Fana (currently 9/28 right). lump` and Pizza's scores are probably best left unmentioned. :P

Remember to utilize the built in user prediction system on this site. Vote for whichever team you think will win, and dominate the predictor charts if you have a knack for predicting winners! Click on the match you want to predict a score for, such as Levitacus (8 / 4) vs. lessthanthree (9 / 3) for example. Click on the clan names with percentage signs next to them, and go crazy!